Clay
Clay
Cullman, AL
Facebook.com/CindyPhillipsArt
In the words of Cindy Phillips:
As a student of art, philosophy, and science, I have learned one way to seek God is by engaging with natural beauty. The way in which changes in value, hue, color temperature and intensity define three-dimensionality is fascinating to me. Through my study of nature and my artistic endeavors to portray this natural beauty I feel close to God. Daily observation of nature reveals to me that God loves variety – variety in size, shape, form, color and texture, all of which inform and inspire my artwork.
I’ve always spent time close to nature and appreciate the serenity I find there. The textures of bark, weathered barn wood, and peeling paint, the contrasting dark grey-blue sky of an approaching storm behind yellow-green treetops, and the shape and color of a person’s lips, cheeks and eyes have all been subjects within my paintings and drawings. While working as a field geologist, I would find pockets of clay in creek beds and enjoyed feeling its texture in my hands. I’m still pleased by the tactile nature of working with clay and the fact I can use a naturally occurring substance to create beautiful and functional ceramics.
My life has taught me, and continues to remind me, to have an appreciation for the beauty in my everyday surroundings – in the landscapes I pass through and in the people’s faces I meet. I hope and pray that my artwork encourages people to slow down, to enjoy a few moments of peace as they consider the tranquility of nature’s beauty represented in my paintings and drawings, or pick up a piece of my ceramics, pondering its origins and transformation. I believe it’s during these quiet moments within the natural beauty of God’s creation that we’re all able to ponder our own origins and transformations and have a chance to know God.
